Favorite Time Management Book: GTD!

The first class I take this fall for my media specialist degree is "Administration of Media Programs." This is from the syllabus (highlight mine):

"Time management
Readings:

* Fitzgerald, M.A., & Waldrip, A. (2004, August/September). Not enough time in the day: Media specialists, program planning, and time management, Part I. Library Media Connection 23 (1), p. 38. [GALILEO] [supplemental][persistent link]
* My favorite resource on TM: Getting Things Done by David Allen"

I think I'll be happy here!

Share Your Calendar

This isn't my calendar, it's juggling frogs'. I do basically the same thing with my Google Calendar. I print it out every month and stick it on the fridge. I have one calendar. One. This keeps things from getting confused.

Everyone knows to look at the calendar and see what's coming up for the week. If something gets written on the calendar, we update the one on the computer as well, sometimes reprinting it if needed.

This saves you from conflicts. Everyone has access to the calendar on the computer, everyone can see what's coming up when they grab their breakfast. And if you're worried about privacy, you can steal juggling frogs' idea in the picture and use a binder cover with a strong magnet.

Teacherninja Is One

Happy birthday to the blog!


One year, just over 300 posts and many interesting experiences. I just looked back at my first post and it wasn't too embarrassing. Notice the hilarious lack of linking, though. It's ok, I learned fast and am still learning every day. It only took a few days to get my first comment from a stranger. That was cool. The commenting didn't start in full until this post about the First Day of School, which I still like.


Here's my first comment from an author. Here's another one. I love authors. They're so cool. I've also met Mo Willems, Christopher Moore, and Jerry Spinelli this year.

Coming full circle, my wife bought me a new Circa notebook for my upcoming graduate coursework. (Because she's so awesome and thoughtful I can't stand it). She got me the letter-sized starter kit. I already have the punch, so went out and got some heavier weight printer paper, punched it and I'm in business. I'll use the Junior for my everyday life and the letter-size for my classes and later, my media center work. Kinda like this Assistant Principal I linked to earlier. I won't go on about my GTD system again here, but it has really worked for me and I'll continue to blog about it and other tips for teachers.

Obviously, I blog about more than just GTD and productivity for teachers. I've expanded my focus to blog about my reading, teaching reading, science and reason, and critical thinking in general. Reading and critical thinking are, to me, the core of what we do and my transition into a Media Specialist is just another logical outgrowth of that.

Thanks must go to all the amazing commenters and fellow bloggers. The blogroll is not just for looks, people! All of those people are awesome and my little half-acre of the web here wouldn't exist without them. Check them out. I'll still be here typing away about things I see as interesting, funny, or just plain cool in this crazy profession I've gotten myself into.

Thanks again and I hope you stick around for the ride!

Paper or Electronic? Not That Simple...

(photo via here)

If you haven't already, check out this Lifehacker list of the top five Getting Things Done applications. Obviously I'm for number five, but I like number one and would use it if I went back to an all computer based system (and you can put it right on your Google calendar). The commenters of course start bickering over which is best but if you actually read David Allen's book, he never pushes one method over another. It's whatever works for you. I find that a little of both works for me. I use Gmail, of course, and their Gcal which I print out, punch and carry in my Circa Notebook. I call Jott.com when I'm out and it shoots me email reminders. For everything else I use index cards and my Circa.

I like this person and some of her ideas (Diigo is awesome), but if the whole reason you are using electronic media is to save some trees, then please watch this impressive slideshow. At least paper can be recycled.

Again, I'm not advocating for one method. I like both. But we must remember that every decision we make is more complicated than we think.

Another Teacher Getting Things Done

In my inbox this morning:

"I've been wanting to THANK you for your book recommendation. Getting Things Done has made a huge impact already for me! I've been reading the book, and it's amazing what I've been able to accomplish after reading about the basic principles in the book. I was pretty organized, but it has given me so much more insight into the daily, minutely things that get thrown in my direction!

Now if I can just get [my husband] to begin reading it..."

Cool.

My System: Circa

I try to get out, but they pull me back in!

Ah, Levenger. Worse than a drug dealer aren't they? They just have the best stuff. But this isn't as bad as it seems. I got a sample Junior sized notebook for $12. It comes with the clear covers, tabbed dividers and the famous ring binders. It also comes with some samples of paper, but not enough to really use. Now you have to decide if you want to buy their (admittedly nice) pre-cut paper or go for the unique hole punch.

Go for the hole punch. Yes it's nearly $60, but it will last forever and you can punch whatever you want to fill up this puppy. I print out pages and punch from my Google Calendar for free. You can find every kind of pre-printed form you can imagine at DIY Planner for free or just cut and punch blank paper. So yes, it's an up front investment but for less than the price of seven disposable Moleskines, you can have the magnificent organizational and creative outlet that is Circa.

I love it because other notebooks don't lay flat and you're carrying 200+ pages of blank paper. I used stenos to lay flat, but they fall apart too easily. This is the best of both worlds. It carries only the papers you require and it can be folded back and lay flat and the pages can be taken out and put back in however you wish without the clumsiness of a three-ring binder.








My partner teacher has since gotten one. So has my mom. They're just awesome.

Now Staples does carry a knock-off called Rollabind. The notebooks are much cheaper and they have (less fine) pre-cut refill papers that look like they would work just as well. I've heard they have a punch too, but couldn't find one. Levenger has a cheaper "travel" punch, but I've heard it's wonky to use so opted for the heftier original.

I made my own inner covers, print and fold the calendar pages, and have tabbed sections for Next, Projects, Someday, Waiting, and Reference/Journaling. That's another plus. I used to have separate notebooks for GTD and journaling, but because the pages can be easily moved, this is great for both. I can punch my 3x5s to fit in here and move them around. Sometimes I have only 3x5s in some sections (like Waiting) rather than whole sheets of paper.

The best thing is, I have quit switching around and just gotten more done (which is the point, no?) since I settled on this. I think because the notebook itself lets me fiddle with it, I don't need to fiddle with other notebooks or systems or whatever and can concentrate on actually Doing.

My System: Capture

The most important thing I've learned from my reading of Getting Things Done is the idea of ubiquitous capture, or writing everything down as it comes at you. You could use a PDA for this, but I prefer a modified hPDA, a Franklin-Covey note-taker which I got for $15 at an office supply store:

Inside are my id and cards, cash, blank 3x5 index cards and my indestructible Fisher Space Pen:

I like this pen for everyday capture because, unlike other pens I've tried, it doesn't break and leak in my pants pocket or try to stab me. About $16.

I also throw things into my cool Ikea in-trays:



I have one at work and one at home. About $8 each.

Other things are stickies and Jott and Gmail with labels and filters. And don't forget the usefulness of your cameraphone. I actually carry a camera with me most of the time, but this recommendation goes with cameraphones as well. I use it to capture pictures of things I might want to buy, the signs on the front of businesses that show hours of operation, things like that.

Teachers and Productivity

Teacher problems are actually being discussed over on 43folders!

In the comments you'll notice two more teacher productivity sites, but I wanted to link-love them here:

Teacher's Bag of Tricks

and Classroom Zen

Give them a checkout.

An Assistant Principal's GTD System

He uses Circa notebooks from Levenger's (which I have just adopted and will write more about later.

Here's the link to his system.

Friday Quote and Thoughts for 2008

"I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve (or save) the world and a desire to enjoy (or savor) the world. This makes it hard to plan the day." - E. B. White

Old E.B. sure had a knack for summing things up. So here's some conflicting advice about getting things done for the next year. I've read a lot of year-end/new year advice and have enjoyed these the most. Chrissey over at The Executive Assistant's toolbox says to stop fiddling with your system and just DO IT ALREADY! while norbauer over at 43folders reminds me to embrace my inner underachiever. The Merlin himself also has some wise words for the new year: Begin the New Year with Fresh Starts and Modest Changes and remember that sometimes the best we can do is to "keep putting the puppy back on the paper."

Have a great 2008.

Hitting Close to Home

I like to re-iterate now and then that one of the best thing about the GTD method is that you can use only the parts of it you need. I need to remind myself of this sometimes as well. Here are some links to great posts that hit uncomfortably close to home for me. But in a good way. They remind me to focus on how to get it done, not the system so much.

This is from Cranking Widgets.

This is from Lifehacker.

And yes, I just switched to a new notebook. I'll write about that later.

GTD Beginners

Aren't we all?

Here's a post of mistakes folks often make when they're just starting out with Getting Things Done.

I think we could all use a tweaking from this one.

Books Read 2007 (part 2)

Duh, twice. And listened to the audio book (which is a fine intro, but you still need the charts available online or from his site for free). I have to say that it's far from the best writing I've ever read, but it's short and the system ties up some things for me that I needed help with. It's not a cult. It's better. It's an open-sourced system that is infinitely adjustable to your needs. Don't need a tickler file? Fine. Use as much or as little as you want or need to. I'm not a fan of self-help or business books, and yes some of it is intuitive, but he puts it all together in a way that will help you out (unless you are one of those few people that never smacks themselves in the head thinking about something they've forgotten to do). Read it and pass it on.

Pocket Tickler

Get your mind out of the gutter! It's just a slight tweak in the hipster PDA to add effectiveness and reminders. Here's the link. I like the addition of the vibrating timer, but I don't need another thing in my pockets. I'll look more carefully at watches. I've mentioned my favorite timer for school. I also have a little kitchen timer in my desk for certain things (if a class is going to be short for example). I have my Google Calendar linked to my cell phone so it vibrates to remind me of appointments an hour or a day ahead. But being ADD, these things help me so much. I lose track of time easily and am especially bad at judging how long a task or a drive might take.

One System

Trent, over at The Simple Dollar, has a great post on his GTD system. He shows, with pictures, every step he uses to collect and process all the information in his life. In the intro to Getting Things Done, David Allen writes "...that there is no single once-and-for-all solution. No software, seminar, cool personal planner, or personal mission statement will simplify your worday or make your choices for you..."

I think that's why GTD is such a hit. It's a collection of some previously used productivity ideas, tweaked into a system. Best of all, it's open sourced. You don't have to buy a GTD computer or GTD software to make it work. Browse online and you'll find hundreds of applications both analog and digital folks use to get their things done. I mostly use a notebook, index cards and my Google Calendar.

Trent uses a bit more digital, but Rememebr The Milk and Google Notebook are awesome tools.
That's another thing that's great. I could (and have) tried different iterations of my system. It's okay to tweak, just don't do it for the sake of switching. The most important aspect is if it is working for you. If things are slipping through the cracks, you should investigate changes.

Remember: it's not about the tools. It's about getting your things done.

About

Tom over at LifeGoalAction responded to an email I sent with a request:

Thanks for your kind words Jim. I really appreciate it. I've been over and had a look at your Teacher Ninja site. You have some great posts over there and I'm am going to have to spend some time going through your archives. I couldn't find an "About" page there. One of the first things I like to do when I visit a new site is to check out some context. I like to find out who is writing, or why they are writing or at least what is it that links it all together. Do you have an article like that? Thanks Tom

(I don't think he'll mind me posting his note. Check out his about page and you'll see that he's a pretty open guy.)

Anyway, here goes:

I have ADHD. As a kid I was a bright but terrible student. I wasn't hyper, but could not focus long enough to finish, well, almost any homework. But I like to read and got by ok. I even did well in college. Out of college I began tutoring adult illiterates and ESL students on some of my evenings. It sparked an interest in teaching of all things and I got a Master's degree in Early Childhood Education. But I was very much enjoying a low-pressure job at a bookstore and didn't actually begin a teaching job for five more years. I think I suspected the whole ADD thing, or at least knew my limitations.

Teaching confirmed my suspicions. I had to fill out ADHD checklists on students and realized this was me. I read an Edward Hallowell book about adults with ADD and knew I should see someone. It took me a while (due to procrastination and finding the right Dr. and drugs), but I finally got the medicine. It's exactly like getting the right glasses prescription and the world snapping into clarity.

But even the right glasses can't teach you to read. I had more focus, but hadn't really learned how to be effective or productive with that focus. Trolling the web last year, I ran across Merlin Mann's 43folders.com. I went to college with Merlin and he was like me (only smarter). We both were scattered and flaked out on some assignments. He was pushing a book called Getting Things Done.

Now I loathe self-help and businessy books, and I personally think David Allen (who also went to my college--not the same time as Merlin and I of course) isn't the best writer. But the system made sense to me. Hallowell implores ADDers to "write everything down." David Allen takes you to the next step and tells you what to do with all those scribblings.

It's an old saw that to learn something well, you need to teach it and so I started blogging about my attempts to Get Things Done. I know there are a million GTD blogs, but I thought perhaps my perspective as a teacher would be somewhat unique. It would also give me a forum to mention books, articles, or anything else about teaching and/or productivity. I was going to call it TeacherHacks, but the name was taken (by a very unproductive web site). My wife says I have Jedi powers (I tend to disappear in retail outlets and she finds herself speaking to the air), but I thought TeacherJedi would get me sued, so I went with Teacher Ninja. It also vaguely fit all the Karate references David Allen Makes in his book.

As I continue to blog, I realize it will probably stray for only GTD, but it's also something I'll always be working on and looking for things to share about.

How's that, Tom?

GTD #5 DO!

You Collect all your "stuff".

You Process it all.

You have it Organized.

You Review it regularly.

Now you need to do it. But don't just make a "to-do" list. Have separate Next Action lists based on context (@school, @home, @errands, @call to make, etc.). Now you can make decisions based on where you are, how much time you have, how much energy you have, and your priorities. It's after school. The parent you're waiting to meet with is late. You check your lists. No phone in your room and you don't want to leave so you ignore the Calls and Errands list. Your Next Actions include finishing next week's science plans, copying handouts for the upcoming break, and filing the student presentation rubrics. You're pooped. You file until the parent shows up.

It doesn't sound like any more than common sense until you are headachy and tired and can't think of that stuff on your own. Or you're at the bookstore and you don't have to try to remember that book your friend told you about because you've captured it and it's now on a list you carry (in a notebook, PDA, etc).

This has just been a brief overview of David Allen's Getting Things Done. Obviously there's more to say, but I wanted to cover the basics from a teacher's point of view. Read the book and just insert "teacher" whenever he uses a business person as an example and you'll get it.

GTD #4--Review

Part four in my continuing mission to go over the basic "five phases" of David Allen's Getting Things Done and make it more teacher-friendly.

So now that you have collected, processed and organized everything and you trust your system, you're feeling great. The last two steps are to review and, of course do.

You should review your action lists and calendar daily.

At least once a week, preferably at a scheduled time, you should do a Weekly Review to clean up, empty In boxes, update, and maintain your system. As teachers we have a leg up on others who have a hard time with this because we already sit down at least once a week and make plans. This is an extension of that process, but with everything--not just lessons.

Look back at your calendar and action lists to see if there's anything you need to bring forward. Look ahead on your calendar to see if there's anything you need to get ready for (this has helped me out so much, I used to always forget about upcoming meetings and such). Then, look at your lists of projects, things you're waiting on from others, and even your list of things you might want to get to somedaymaybe. How is all this stuff fitting in with your values and goals? It's a time to meditate on everything and make sure it's all fitting together.

Sick with GTD

Not sick of GTD. I'm happy with my own personal iteration of GTD, especially when I'm sick. I'm over the worst of it, but the three of us in my little family are all far from 100% at the moment and this is when GTD can really work it's magic.

I can't remember anything, but it's already been processed. I get something new and I know just where to dump it. The system is in place, I trust it and I'll double check everything at the next review or when I'm better--whichever comes first.

Best of all, it's easy to look at my projects and to-do's and shuffle them around to a more manageable amount. I'm all for what David Allen calls "cranking widgets" right now and putting off the more brain-intensive stuff. I know what I'm not doing and I'm not stressed about it because I'm still getting things done.

Take your vitamins!

GTD #3--Organize

This is pretty easy for teachers (we have to have some system), but it can always be looked at and tightened up. The four big categories you should be processing your stuff into are:
Projects--anything you've committed to finish that will take more than two minutes. Usually composed of multiple actions to complete.
Calendar--actions that must occur at a specific day and time. Those are the only things you should put on your calendar. And it's best if you have only one calendar so things don't fall through the cracks. That's why I love Google's Calendar--I can access it anywhere. 30Boxes.com is also good.
Next Actions--The next physical thing you need to do on each of your project lists. Call the doctor. Write that email. File those papers. Always think in verbs.
Waiting For--A list of all the projects and actions others are supposed to be doing that you care about and may need to follow up on. Mine has a book I've ordered, some books friends have borrowed, and the next thing I need returned with approval for our field trip.

Obviously you need a good filing system and we'll get to that in a later post. David Allen recommends having multiple action lists for different contexts, and this is perfect for teachers. I have a home list and a school list. Sometimes I have a to call/email list and an errands list. The errands list is the best. Now when I'm out I never have that nagging "There was something else I wanted..." feeling because I have the list. I also keep a list of books to check out next time I'm in the book store.

Some things aren't really projects or next actions. Like exercising, or lesson planning. You need to do those every day or week. Checklists are good for that and better than your calendar, because they're not tied to a specific time, just a time frame.

This system is great for email as well. At work I have a Next Action, Reference, and Waiting For folder. When I go through my emails, I don't respond immediately. I go through each one and either read it and delete it, or slide it over into one of these folders. Then I open the Next Action folder and begin responding. That way my inbox is empty and the only things I need to check on are in the folders.